We Kingdom Hearts fans aren't strangers to a long wait, having seen a massive 13-year gap between the second and third mainline games, and more than six years since the last proper entry. Unfortunately, it looks like our patience isn't paying off this time, as Square Enix has officially cancelled Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link.
First announced more than three years ago in April 2022, Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link was set to be a GPS-based game like Pokémon Go, with action RPG gameplay and a whole host of new and familiar faces from the beloved IP. It was set to release on Android and iOS, with a release window ultimately slated for fall 2024. However, after multiple delays, it's not particularly surprising that this intriguing fusion of Scala Ad Caelum and your own neighborhood is never going to see the light of day.
The news came in the form of a post from the official X account, where Square Enix stated that "we have made the decision to cancel the development of Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link. We wish to convey our heartfelt apologies to everyone who has been looking forward to the start of service."
Square Enix goes on to say, "Although we worked hard on developing and adjusting the game in the hope that it would be enjoyed by lots of players, we determined that it would be difficult for us to offer a service that players would find satisfactory over a long period of time, leading us to the decision to cancel development."
Honestly, while this is obviously quite disappointing news, I can't say I didn't see this coming. While I enjoyed my time with the beta (which you can read about in my Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link preview), I felt that the story at that point was pretty thin on the ground, and wasn't particularly taken with the gacha game mechanics revolving around the character figures and their impact on combat.
It also tied quite heavily to the now-defunct Kingdom Hearts X (Unchained X/Union X Dark Road). While it did try to forge its own story in a way that works as a standalone experience, whether it actually managed that remained to be seen, and with each delay, the game stepped further and further away from the AR-boom triggered by Pokémon Go back in 2016.
Luckily, there's one good thing to come of this cancellation, as Square Enix has confirmed that "the Kingdom Hearts series will continue. We are hard at work on Kingdom Hearts IV, and hope you'll continue to support the series as you keep an eye out for further updates."
Let's face it, most of us were only looking forward to Missing-Link as a way to tide us over until the next big Kingdom Hearts game, so I'm personally happy that Square Enix is focusing its efforts on that, instead. Who knows, perhaps we'll even see it launch on the Nintendo Switch 2.